STATEMENT REGARDING LANGTAG CONSULTATIVE CONFERENCE

Issued by: South African Communication Service

STATEMENT ISSUED ON MONDAY 24 JUNE 1996 REGARDING THE LANGTAG CONSULTATIVE CONFERENCE TO BE HELD ON SATURDAY 29 JUNE 1996 AT THE CSIR CONFERENCE CENTRE, PRETORIA

On 29 June 1996 the Language Plan Task Group (LANGTAG) of the Minister of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology will be holding a national conference in Pretoria in order to discuss with stakeholders and other interested groups and individuals the outline of the National Language Plan it has been formulating since December 1995. The conference will take place at the CSIR Conference Centre and all organisations and individual citizens are welcome to participate.

LANGTAG was established on 12 December 1995 by Minister Ben Ngubane with a view to advising him on a coherent National Language Plan for South Africa. Dr Neville Alexander, the Director of the Project for the Study of Alternative Education in South Africa (PRAESA) at the University of Cape Town is chairperson of LANGTAG.

In the months leading up to the formation of the LANGTAG, it had become clear that, contrary to the constitutional provisions, there was a definite trend towards unilingualism in our country. Many felt that, while multilingualism was a sociolinguastic reality in South Africa, it was in fact invisible in the public service, in most public discourse and in the mass media.

There was therefore an urgent need for the Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology to devise a National Language Plan which would not only address these issues but also draw on the RDP and consequently maximise the utilisation of South Africa's human resources.

The language policy of the Government of National Unity should take a central place in its nation-building strategy. In view of this, therefore, the National Language Plan should achieve at least the following goals:

• All South Africans should have access to all spheres of South African society by developing and maintaining a level of spoken and written language that is appropriate for a range of contexts in the official language(s) of their choice.
• All South Africans should be able to learn languages other than their mother tongue.
• African languages, which have been marginalised by the linguicist policies of the past, should be developed and maintained.
• Equitable and widespread language facilitation services should be established.

LANGTAG's brief from the Minister was to identify the needs and priorities in regard to the realisation of the constitutional principles pertaining to the language question in South Africa and in regard to the implementation of the policies that derive from those principles.

LANGTAG also consists of the following subcommittees:

• Development of the (South) African Languages
• Language in Education
• Language Equity
• Equitable and Widespread Language services
• Literacy
• Heritage Languages and Special Language Needs
• Language as an Economic Resource.

Each of the seven chairpersons prepared a Guideline Document describing the relevant issues, providing questions, ideas, and plans for workshops, etc. and listing various sources of information. This document has, as planned, generated further questions and issues to be addressed, and is being expanded through extensive consultation and workshops involving stakeholders. Each subcommittee's Guideline Document has been incorporated into the draft LANGTAG report which is to be discussed at the National Conference on Saturday, 29 June. The final report will be presented to the Minister on 31 July 1996.

ALL MEDIA WELCOME TO ATTEND THE CONFERENCE CONFERENCE STARTS AT 09:00

Translation services will be available in the official languages, as well as sign language.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:

Dr Neville Alexander Tel: 021 - 650 4013 Fax: 021 - 650 3489 Dr Annemarie Beukes Tel: 012 - 314 6366 Fax: 012 - 314 6048 Mr Fred Oberholzer Tel: 012 - 314 2168 Fax: 012 - 326 0317